‘Win or Lose’: Critics Rate Pixar’s Tween Tales a Win, Despite Representational Loss (New Clips)

Disney+ has officially launched Win or Lose, the first original series from Pixar Animation Studios which follows the intertwined stories of eight different characters as they each prepare for their big championship softball game — the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire.

To mark the release, two new clips and a featurette taking fans inside the diamond have debuted. Critics’ reviews are also rolling in. While the overall consensus is that the storymakers at Pixar have scored another win (earning an 89% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes), the shadow of the controversial decision to remove the mention of a character’s trans identity looms over the pitch.

What the Critics Are Saying

Collider‘s Ross Bonaime praises the way each episode’s story builds upon another, and highlights the nuanced voice performances of Rosa Salazar (Vanessa), Rosie Foss (Laurie) and Milan Elizabeth Ray (Rochelle). “Pixar is still clearly trying to iron out the wrinkles in how to best use episodic television to tell their types of stories, but Win or Lose is a great step in the right direction,” Bonaime writes. “By putting their characters at the forefront, and exploring each one from new angles with other episodes, we see what made Pixar so great in the first place, and how they’re able to bring magic to even the most straightforward, relatable emotions.”

Reviewing for IGN, Jesse Hassenger highlights the hypocrisy in the show’s messaging versus the Mouse House’s decision to censor the transness of character Kai, who is voiced by young transgender actress Chanel Stewart: “Without getting preachy — in fact, often while being hilarious — Win or Lose visualizes how both children and adults process their emotional challenges, and how those dimensions are often initially hidden from casual view. It’s especially sad, then, that one feeling — fear — prompted Disney to cut a storyline for the transgender character…”

Hassenger adds, however, “In a perverse way, knowledge of the interference faced by Win or Lose makes the show itself all the more impressive; it could have easily wound up feeling as focus-grouped and over-engineered as any number of more muddled Disney projects. Instead, it hits that sweet spot where kids, especially those close to the ages of the characters, can lock into it, and adults can marvel at its cleverness and honesty.”

The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news about Kai’s cisgender retconning, more bluntly addressed the impact of Disney’s decision. “Critics weren’t sent the episode centered around Kai, and she hasn’t played a significant role in the ones we have seen so far. So I can’t tell you how the last-minute rewrites play, how central her trans identity would have been to her narrative, or how erasing it changes our understanding of her,” critic Angie Han discloses, before eloquently adding:

“What I do know is that a bit of compassion toward a trans child, and other people who might see themselves or their loved ones in her, would have gone a long way right now. That trans kids deserve care and understanding, as well as stories that reinforce that they deserve care and understanding. And that this series declining to take that stance contradicts the very spirit of thoughtful curiosity that it claims as its foundation.”

About Win or Lose

Win or Lose is directed and written by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates, produced by David Lally, and features music by composer Ramin Djawadi and original songs by CAMPFIRE and Djawadi.

The voice cast features Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth) as Coach Dan, Josh Thomson (The Office) as Frank, Milan Elizabeth Ray (The Wonder Years 2021) as Rochelle, Rosa Salazar as Vanessa, Dorien Watson, Izaac Wang (Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai), Chanel Stewart, Lil Re​l Howery (Dog Man), Melissa Villaseñor (Kung Fu Panda: The  Dragon Knight), Flula Borg, Kyleigh Curran (Secrets of Sulphur Springs), ​Jaylin Fletcher (Snowpiercer), Erin Keif (Hello from the Magic Tavern), Tom Law, Beck Nolan (Good Guy with a Gun), Orion Tran and Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul).

New Clip: “That’s Game” – In episode two, Frank (voice of Josh Thomson), the umpire for the local softball league, lives his life from the sidelines. On the field, he never waivers: a strike is a strike and an out is an out, period. But good call or not — parents are the worst critics. Also features the voices of Milan Elizabeth Ray and Rosa Salazar.

New Clip: “Go Rochelle” – In episode four, debuting next Wednesday on Disney+, Vanessa (voice of Rosa Salazar) relies on her social media fans to help her navigate life as a single mom. But when she gets to the game, her daughter Rochelle (voice of Milan Elizabeth Ray) is the only star. “That’s my baby!” Also features the voice of Josh Thomson.

The new featurette, “Creating the Pickles,” takes viewers inside the making of this milestone production with commentary from Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, producer David Lally, creators/directors Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates and production manager Max Sachar. The clips offer a sneak peek at the multiple animation styles employed to explore the characters’ inner emotional worlds.